Not applicable.
Not applicable.
This invention relates in general to envelope openers and, more particularly, to a slitter-type envelope opener having its handle portion and slitting portion formed as separate components and to a process for making the same.
Slitter-type envelope openers open envelopes with considerable ease, are quite compact and are produced inexpensively. They find widespread use in offices throughout the country. The typical opener of this type has a handle which enables one to grip the device and a finger or spear that is located below the handle. Between the handle and spear lies a slot, and at the end of the slot, a blade. The spear is small enough to fit behind the fold of a flap for an envelope and the slot is large enough to accommodate the fold. Thus one, while gripping the opener along its handle, manipulates the spear beneath the flap and then advances it behind the fold. After short distance the blade encounters the fold and slits the envelope along the fold as the device is advanced.
Many businesses give the openers away as promotional items, with the handles usually bearing the trademark of the business and perhaps some advertising message as well. Some manufacturers of these openers have configured the handles to identify with specific businesses. For example, the handle may resemble a house, and openers having such handles would appeal to real estate companies for use as promotional items. The handles of others may resemble trucks and, of course, would appeal to trucking companies. U.S. Pat. Des. 329,184, Des. 341,307, Des. 342,008, Des. 354,214, Des. 355,108, Des. 368,010, and Des. 364,547 illustrate openers having handles configured for specific types of businesses.
Most manufacturers of letter openers offer only a few shapes and, rarely, customize an opener for any customer. After all, the mold for producing any opener is costly, with much of the cost being attributable to the region of the mold in which the slitting portion of the opener is formed, that is the portion with the spear and the embedded blade, for that portion has shapes more complex than the handle portion.
The present invention resides in an opener having a handle portion and a slitting or cutting portion which are formed separately and thereafter joined together. The invention also resides in the method of making the opener, that is to say, forming its handle and cutting portions separately and then joining them together.